"Marvel's Spider Man" Review

It is very easy to forget there was a time where we used to get a lot of Spider-Man games. Not only did we get a lot of them, but most of them were very good. Spider-Man games used to be synonymous with a good time, from the classic SNES brawler “Maximum Carnage”, the stylish action-adventure “Spider-Man” from Neversoft on the PS1, the movie tie-in games from now Call of Duty developer Treyarch, and others.

From those games, Treyarch’s movie tie-in to Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 was the most beloved Spider-Man game of all. Released back in 2004, the game proved to be a revelation to many as it was perhaps many player’s first taste of an open world game. Remember, back in the day the only real successful player in the nascent open world space was the Grand Theft Auto series, which was not suitable to all ages. The impact of being the first taste of an open world game, as well as the allure of truly feeling like Spider-Man with the game’s excellent physics based web-swinging, made Spider-Man 2 the blueprint for what a game starring everyone’s favorite web-slinger should be. Sure, the game wasn’t without its problems, with simplistic combat, banal side quests (remember the pizza delivery and balloon retrieving side missions, anyone?) and other elements holding the game back.

But the potential of the concept was so amazing, it was exciting to see where future games would go.

 

Sadly and unfortunately, subsequent Spider-Man games went through an extended rough patch since the release of Spider-Man 2. While there were some good games like Beenox Studios’ Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, the rest of the Spider-Man games released over the past decade were either forgettable, rushed or outright bad. Some of these games at their best just couldn’t recapture the magic of being Spider-Man like the seminal 2004 release. Add to that the rise of the Batman Arkham series, which raised the bar for what a licensed videogame should be, and Spider-Man’s continuous funk in the videogame space was seemingly dooming the game franchise into irrelevance.

Enter Insomniac Games, who with the help of Sony Interactive Entertainment and Marvel Games, came together to deliver on the promise of Spider-Man 2 and deliver the greatest Spider-Man game of all time, and one of 2018’s stronger releases.

Does whatever a spider can.

Simply titled Marvel’s Spider-Man, it’s crazy just how perfect a property like Spider-Man fit a studio like Insomniac Games. These guys understand the joy of incredible movement with 2014’s criminally underrated Xbox One-exclusive Sunset Overdrive. Unfortunately, that game came and went completely ignored by general audiences, so a lot of people missed out on one of the most fun open-world traversal systems of this generation. Insomniac Games deserved another shot at showcasing their talents in an open world game, and they got the chance with this new Spider-Man game.

Simply put, this game is a tremendous joy to play. Sometimes it goes unsaid how games are supposed to be “fun”, especially when different games elicit different emotions from players. Marvel’s Spider-Man exudes a sense of fun in every aspect of the game, it’s pretty hard not to play this game without a huge smile plastered all over your face. This game takes everything you may remember that was great about Spider-Man 2 and modernizes it to make it the web-slinger's new gold standard moving forward. This game doesn’t just get the web-swinging right. It nails the feel, style and presentation that makes Spider-Man unique. The way things coordinate here, from expert camera angles, swelling music and forward momentum as you swing from place to place never stops being exhilarating. How it all comes together makes this one of the best ever traversal mechanics in an open world game ever, and you’ll find yourself ignoring fast travel systems as you’ll just keep wanting to experience the slick parkour and web-swinging over and over. It really is that good. 

A Spider-Man game would be incomplete if the other elements surrounding its slick sense of movement weren’t up to par. Insomniac Games makes sure every element of this game is of high enough quality to deliver a more well-rounded experience than previous Spider-Man games. For the first time in a Spider-Man game, I can say they got the combat right. At first it may seem like the combat is an exact replica of the Batman Arkham series, with one button serving as your main attack and a dodge move serving as the game’s equivalent of the counter system from the Arkham series. Over time though, as you unlock more moves and you get more accustomed to the game’s mechanics, you’ll find a slick combat system with a wide array of options that helps the game find an identity outside of the shadow of the Batman games. Once you master the flow of the combat, the ensuing spectacle is a sight to behold, and you’ll want to keep fighting enemies just to see how well everything can be chained together. 

Yes, the game is THIS pretty.

I’ve mentioned spectacle a lot, and it’s because this game deserves special recognition for it. Marvel’s Spider-Man may be the best looking game of this current generation of consoles so far. There is just something astonishing about how much detail Insomniac Games was able to imbue into this world. The level of detail extends everywhere, from the subtle texture detail of all your Spider-Man suits; the meticulous lightning and the parade of particle effects you see constantly as Spider-Man faces against its foes; the incredibly fluid animations which blend traversal and combat so perfectly you’re always left in awe at how it all transitions so smoothly every time, and many other little details. You can definitely tell a lot of money was poured into this game, and every well spent cent can be seen on screen. Taking the time and making this game an exclusive game to the PlayStation 4 paid off in dividends, as Spider-Man has never seen this level of polish in any prior game to this one. 

 

This level of presentational polish carries on towards the story, which I believe is one of the stronger Spider-Man stories I’ve experienced in any medium, including comic books, movies or animated TV series. While some main story beats will be familiar to anyone with even any cursory knowledge of the Spider-Man universe, this character driven tale subverts established conventions in cool, subtle and unexpected ways to still make this a fresh take on a Spider-Man story. Insomniac Games has always had a knack for great storytelling, going back to its humble roots in the Ratchet & Clank series and the Resistance trilogy on PlayStation 3. However, the studio reaches a new level in storytelling prowess with this game. From environmental storytelling and expert world building, they are able to elevate this Spider-Man story into something much more memorable. Characters are well represented. Villains are given enough background to make them anything but shallow. They manage to weave both Peter Parker’s personal struggles and his conflicts as Spider-Man in a way that complements both sides. This is the closest Insomniac Games has gotten in emulating the expert marriage of narrative and gameplay seen in games from Sony’s first party crown jewel studio, Naughty Dog. While there are still some minor narrative missteps, the storytelling in Marvel’s Spider-Man is still the strongest a superhero game has seen in a long time, combining moments of great joy, emotion and darkness. Every comic book game moving forward has a new bar to meet now, and Insomniac Games should be proud here. 

Peter Parker's personal life is the story's most endearing element.

As phenomenal as the game is, Marvel’s Spider-Man is not without its issues. As great as it is to exist in this gorgeous rendition of New York City, most of the open world design seems stuck in some old familiar trappings. With many open world games from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and recent Ubisoft games like Assassin’s Creed Origins and Far Cry 5 changing the way they handle map discovery, it’s strange to see a game as modern as this one rely on the now old “Tower unveils information” trope. As much as I showered praise to the game’s combat system, I have to mention there is much more of a learning curve than you might expect, so beware of a lot of frustration early on as you come to grasp with its systems. Also, as incredible as the movement in this game is, there are sections of the game that slow things to a crawl, particularly a couple of forced stealth sequences with characters other than Spider-Man that suffer from some old school insta-fail trial and error. Some of the boss fights, while incredible looking, tend to all fall into the same flow of throwing object, dodge, attack and repeat. Finally, while this may seem like an extraneous criticism because it may have not been its intention, this game doesn’t do anything particularly new for the open-world genre. It takes elements of different franchises and polishes them up to almost perfection, but it doesn’t add anything we haven’t seen before. Granted, all the issues are not deal breakers per se, but they deserve mention as they stand up like a sore thumb when everything else in the package is so good. 

At around 20+ hours (if not more) with a lot of side content available (Platinum Trophy enthusiasts will be happy with this one), Marvel’s Spider-Man is a very satisfying package overall. In an endless sea of open world games dominating the market, this game may not do anything unique that pushes the open-world genre forward, but the insane level of polish and the most fun traversal system in any open-world game makes it stand out from its competition. If anything, just like the Batman Arkham series before it, this serves as definitive proof that licensed video games can turn out great with a lot of time, money and dedication put into them and not when they’re rushed to meet a movie’s release. Insomniac Games gave their all to this game, and it shows.

 

Just like the movie franchise saw a resurgence after a few duds with its induction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Spider-Man Homecoming, the Spider-Man franchise needed a similar resurgence in the videogame space, and it got it courtesy of Insomniac Games. Marvel’s Spider-Man is the best Spider-Man game to date, one of the strongest games made by Insomniac, and high in the list of the best exclusive games available on the PlayStation 4.

90%

★★★★☆
4.5/5 

Highly Recommended

Marvel's Spider Man was reviewed to completion on a standard PlayStation 4. Images provided by Insomniac Games website.

Game Scoring rubric:

★ : 1 point  ☆ : 0.5 points

★★★★★: Essential. Excellent games. Close to flawless. Transcends any minor flaws it may have.
   ★★★★: Highly recommended. Great games. Some flaws worth mentioning, but nothing to worry about.
      ★★★: Recommended. Good games. Contains things worth playing & experiencing, but flaws can hinder the experience.
         ★★: Questionable. Mediocre games. The flaws start to significantly hinder anything good the game has.
             ★: Avoid. Bad games with terrible design decisions and flaws. No fun to be had. Don't waste your time.